The Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal spent more than $6,500 to promote the new black uniforms, according to documents The Link obtained under the Access to Information Act.

“We considered it a major change for our organization,” said Laurent Gingras, a spokesperson for the SPVM.

“Montrealers need to be made aware of it, it’s a question of safety for all of us, so people know they are dealing with a police agent.”

The SVPM justified the change as following other municipal police forces’ choice of uniform.

The other costs are split between posters and renting the Palais des Congrés to present the new uniforms to the press.

Montreal’s police force spends about $3 million each year on uniforms according to the documents. SPVM Chief Marc Parent announced earlier this month the transition between uniforms would cost $20,000 to the taxpayers.

All SPVM agents are supposed to be wearing the new uniforms as of March 5, but the Montreal police brotherhood is asking its members to wear the new uniforms only every two days— to put pressure on the mayor for current negotiations about the three-day week agents currently enjoy.

“It’s an important colour change; we’re going from light blue to black-blue, which is the uniform worn by all [Quebec] municipal police forces, we were the last one to still have the light blue uniforms,” said Gingras.